ok so the day after my insurance approved me the dr's office called and scheduled my surgery.. So with in the next 3 weeks I will be running around like crazy getting my pre-op testings and other stuff that needs to be taken care of. I start my shakes this Thursday (01/24). I'm ready for that. I bought 2 cases of Slim-fast Optima. One's Dark chocolate Royal and the other is Cappuccino Delight. I was wondering since they said I can have tomato juice does that mean I can have some V-8?? hum..

I have a question (other than the one I just asked)..

I take birth control pills and Vitamins daily.. now I've heard we can't take pills cause they could be hard to digest. Does anyone have any ideas or alternatives???

Thanks!!

I was banded on 12/26/07 and I was told to take bp medication on the morning of surgery. I have type II diabetes but I was instructed not to take it. They usually want your stomach empty to prevent vomiting before surgery (your doctor will give you instructions to follow before surgery). I didn't take any more medication until day 3. I wasn't specifically told not too but I just didn't want to. My diabetes medication is HUGE so I called the pharmacy and was told it was ok to crush it. My blood pressure medication however can't be crushed. It is very small so I had no problems with it. As far as Vitamins I have always taken 2 flinstone vitamins since I was a kid. They have many different chewables and liquids so you should shop around and find whatever is to your liking. More than likely the doctor doing your surgery will have chewables available for purchase in their office.

Please check with your pharmacist to be sure your medication can be crushed or cut in half. It will greatly affect the dosage and may have a negative effect on your body. Generally if it has a line through the middle it can be crushed or halved. If it is time released it absolutely can not be crushed. Good luck with your surgery!!!!!!!!!!!

Best wishes to you and yours!!!!!!!!

My BC pills are small enough to take after banding. I would take them with you and ask your doc or someone in his office. Also I was told that in the long run the opening into your stomach will be size of a pencil so if you BC pills are smaller than that, you shouldn't have a problem. I was told that mine would be ok.

Shandra

I switched my arthritis medicine after banding. I was allowed to crush or cut up but they were just too nasty to deal with. The new pill is nice and tiny so it gives me no trouble. I would say it's about the size of BC pills.

As far as the day of surgery - just ask your surgeon if it's ok to take your meds and let him/her know what you are on.

I now take a chewable Vitamin - they are generally huge so I was never able to get those down.

congrats on getting your date!!!!

wombat

When I was banded, and still to this day, I take a seizure medication that is about the size of a birth control pill. The day of the surgery, they asked me if it was O.K. to hold off until after the surgery to take it. I did and didn't have any trouble. With BC pills, if you don't take it the nearly the same time every day you may need to use another form of BC until the next cycle. Check with your doctor. As for the Vitamins, once you're discharged and back home I would recommend either liquid or chewable vitamins until you're healed. It's only been in the last year that I've taken standard sized vitamins (and my band is completely empty). liquid vitamins taste yucky. Chewable, like flintstone's complete or viactiv or Centrum chewable would be better.

If you're allowed tomato juice, V-8 qualifies. It's a vegetable juice, but it is mostly tomato. Although it does have a lot of sodium. Maybe consider the low sodium variety.

I had to stop my birth control pills 1 month before surgery because of clotting. You should ask your doctor. I restarted 2 weeks after surgery.

I spoke to my Dr's office they said the BC pill will be ok. just not to take it on the day of the surgery. they said because it's so small I should have no problems passing them..

thanks for everyones help...

If you've already lost 32lbs, you way ahead of the game, congratulations.

The way it was explained to me at the Weight Loss Program, they want pills crushed or to use liquid medication, not so much about swallowing, but about the pill sitting in the small top-side of the stomach (after banding), the longer it sits there, the more it will irritate your small stomach, so just try to get the meds to flow on down to the lower-big portion of your stomach.

I was banded on Wed Jan 16 and back at work on Tues Jan 22, still in an anesthesia fog, but otherwise doing real well. I'm already eating mushies, everything is sliding down just fine.

Dr has me checking my blooodsugar often. under 175 do nothing. over 175 take 1/2 metformin. I'm hoping to get my Type 2 in remission. No longer injecting Lantus and taking some Metformin every once in a while.

I was on LOW CARB Slim Fast pre-op and I still like it after I put some Peanut Butter in the chocolate and apple pie spice in the vanilla. I'm going to try and keep my carb intake waaay down. I'm now a believer that the Diabetics must stay low carb.

Good Luck! Joanna

Good Luck on your surgery and hope everything goes well.

The only one I had an issue taking was vytorin and I cut it in half. I was fine. I take 2 Flintstones chewables and 2 calcium chews (am and pm). I'm still on synthroid and pepcid (hopefully not much longer on that one!), but I've not had any issues swallowing them.

I take a rather large chewable vitamin that I got from Walgreens.com that (I forget the brand) is specially designed for post-bariatric surgery. It's citrus flavored and tolerable. I don't know how it compares to Flintstones, but I've heard those are chock full of sugar.

I just need one that does not make me shudder and want to gag as I'm trying to get it down.

I'd kill to go back to my flinstone gummies - there's just not enough good stuff in them. :rolleyes2:

wombat

What arthritis medicine do you now take? I take Arthrotec and Aleve and my doctor told me I would have to take something else because they would both irritate my stomach. I called my MD today and he said all arthritis medicines irritate the stomach. Please let me know what your tiny pill is called.